David Coverdale: ‘Deep Purple reunion could have been amazing’

WHITESNAKE frontman DAVID COVERDALE has revealed a classic DEEP PURPLE reunion almost came about when he reached out to reclusive guitarist RITCHIE BLACKMORE and offered up a killer line-up.
Coverdale has made it no secret that he was interested in a get together with the guitar great, and now he tells Classic Rock Revisited, he even had a dream list of bandmates.
Asked for his input by a Blackmore representative, the singer said, ‘I said, ‘I really appreciate the musicality of Roger Glover – and he produced two of my solo albums, but Glenn Hughes is my soul brother’. I recommended Keith Emerson as the keyboard player – he was a fan of Purple… Keith is a breathtakingly gifted musician.”
But talks fell apart and instead Whitesnake’s leader decided to revisit his past with Deep Purple on new album The Purple Album, on which he revisits songs recorded during his stint in the group.
He adds, “This is my best of, and everything is done with love and respect.”
Meanwhile, Coverdale tells ThePulseofRadio.com he once considered a Deep Purple get together featuring Ian Gillan, who he replaced in the classic rock band, shortly before co-founder Jon Lord’s death in 2012.
He adds, “Ian was one of the nicest blokes I met. I’d flown over to England to do a charity show for Roger Glover at the Royal Albert Hall… and Ian was there and we ended up carousing for, like, four days and nights. I ended up sleeping from the moment the plane took off from Heathrow back to Los Angeles. Woke up as we landed. The perfect journey!
“I have absolutely no problem sharing a microphone with Ian. None. To me, it would be the ultimate expression of gratitude to breathtaking loyalty from Purple fans.”